Homesteader Depot

Tag: natural healing

  • Medicinal Herbs and Roots for Homesteaders

    Medicinal Herbs and Roots for Homesteaders

    When living as self-sufficiently as possible, you want to keep trips to the drugstore to a minimum, naturally. Fortunately, you can find some great medicinal herbs that you can grow and keep around the house that will help to keep you and your family healthy. Of course, there may always come a time when you have no choice but to use meds from the doctor or the drugstore, but these herbs can help you with quite a few ailments.

    Cayenne Pepper

    Powdered cayenne pepper is for more than adding some spice to your meals. You can use it for several things. It is said to boost circulation and increase energy. It can also be sprinkled onto a cut or a scrape to help stop the bleeding.

    Ginger

    Ginger root can work wonders as well. Whether eaten or placed in tea, ginger can energize you and help deal with sore joints. When placed in a compress, it can be used to help treat mild burns.

    Aloe

    This plant is another very good option for treating mild burns, including sunburns. You can cut the leaves and use the gel on the inside to cover the burns. It provides a cooling and soothing feeling as it heals.

    Cranberries

    Cranberries are for more than just Thanksgiving. They can help to treat bladder and urinary tract infections. They also happen to taste good, which is a nice benefit.

    Of course, as with any illness or ailment that you might have, the best course of action is to seek the help of a medical professional. These tips are for the homesteader who might not have immediate access to a doctor and who still needs some help in the meantime. Continue to learn more about various herbs, roots, and plants that can help you with other ailments.

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  • Dandelion Balm for Aches and Pains

    Dandelion Balm for Aches and Pains

    Keeping your homestead in working order is bound to give you sore muscles, joint pain, and irritated skin from time to time.  Luckily you probably have the cure outside in your lawn.  Dandelions can be used in a balm to help treat soreness and skin irritation.  All you need other than dandelions are some oil (olive, coconut, almond, or sunflower will work), bee’s wax, and some canning jars.

     

    How to Make Dandelion Balm

    1. Gather up all the dandelions that you have available.
    2. Next, you want to dry them out so that your balm isn’t watered down.  Spread them out in a single layer on some cardboard, lay some paper towels over them, and put them somewhere they won’t be disturbed.  Preferably where they can get some light from a window to speed the drying.
    3. Once they have dried out (this could take a day or even two depending on the moisture in your environment) you can infuse the oil.
    4. Fill a canning jar no more than ¾ of the way up with your dry dandelions.  Then pour your oil over them until it is an inch or two higher, or near the top.
    5. Place the filled jar in a pot with a few inches of water in it, and bring it to a low heat.  You will need to continue to heat the oil for several hours.  The color of the dandelions should bleed out and change the color of the oil.  If you want your balm to be stronger, you can let the infused oil sit for a few days in the dark, or if you have more dandelions you can strain out the used ones and redo the process with new dried dandelions.
    6. Now you need your wax, you will need about 1 part wax for every 7 parts infused oil.
    7. Put the oil and the wax in a container(s) that can hold both of them and be heated, like a canning jar, and put these into a few inches of water to heat just as before.  This time, you only need to heat it until all of the mixture has melted together.  Then while it is still liquid, pour it into smaller jars.  If you leave it in a quart jar you will have a hard time getting it out with your fingers to apply when it gets lower than 20 ounces since it will be out of reach.

    Don’t let aches and pains keep you from getting work on your homestead done when the cure is right outside.

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  • Get Healthy with the Right Spices

    Get Healthy with the Right Spices

    Part of homesteading has to be about living a healthy lifestyle. You know the importance of having fresh and healthy food, so you can stave off common avoidable illnesses that are plaguing so many people in the country today. However, you might not have thought about all of the benefits that can come from using certain spaces in your food.

    Different herbs, plants, and roots can help to increase your health and make all that healthy food taste even better. Let’s look at some of the best options when it comes to spicing up your food.

    Cinnamon

    Most people like cinnamon quite a bit. However, they probably are not eating it in the healthiest manner possible. After all, a cinnamon roll isn’t exactly good for you. However, there are some ways we can eat and remain healthy and enjoy the benefits that cinnamon offers. For example, sprinkle some of it on oatmeal or into peanut butter. You can put some on sweet potatoes as well. In fact, it works well for quite a few different types of food.

    Why is cinnamon such a good option? It has the potential to help manage your blood sugar levels and lower your cholesterol while keeping your arteries healthy.

    Chili Peppers

    If you want a little bit of a spicy life, chili peppers are the way to go. These peppers include an ingredient called capsaicin. This is what provides the plants their heat, and it’s also what provides the health benefits. Some of the benefits you can get from capsaicin include pain relief, improve the health of your heart, and it can reduce inflammation.

    Turmeric

    Another fantastic spice to consider using is turmeric. You will often find this used in different types of curry, you can add it to other things as well. Many have found that it can reduce inflammation, and this has been a benefit for people who suffer from arthritis.

    Oregano

    Oregano is a popular and flavorful herb. However, many don’t know that it also happens to include two antibacterial agents. This can help to fight off infection. In addition, those who have been looking to add more antioxidants to their life will enjoy knowing that oregano has about four times the number of antioxidants as blueberries. It happens to be very easy to grow at home, as well. You should definitely add this to your garden if you haven’t already.

    Garlic

    Garlic is a good option as well, and it has a number of health benefits. For centuries, it has been a part of natural medicine, and with good reason. It has antiviral properties, as well as antibacterial and antifungal properties. There have also been studies that show you can stop blood clots from forming in the arteries. It works quite well on a number of different types of food.

    As you can see, spices can do quite a bit for health and should be a part of every homesteader’s diet. Of course, these are certainly not the only options when it comes healthy spices. Do yourself a favor and start looking for other spices that you can start using and growing.

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